This is where the transformation begins from being a civilian to a sailor and finally to becoming the most feared and admired soldier – a Navy SEAL. A navy recruit has to report to the Recruit Training Command (RTC) in Great Lakes, Illinois because this is the boot camp, a place where he

RTC is the place where Navy SEALs are simply new naval recruits and one among the many who are trying to walk the path of courage. This is where you will acquire new skills and get some of the best training so that you are ready to take on the world in uniform and without uniform as well.

The Naval Boot Camp is 8 weeks of hardcore physical and mental training that helps the recruit understand his strengths and limitations. The training is demanding and rigorous and requires lot of hard work. Once the recruit completes the Navy SEAL training, he feels proud at having achieved the impossible. There are recruits, who say at end of the boot camp training, that they never knew that they were physically and mentally so strong.

Week 1-3 at the Boot Camp
Let’s take a look at what the recruit will get to learn in the first three weeks at the Naval boot camp.

Week 1
This is known as the Processing Week. The day he arrives at the boot camp, he is provided with Navy-issued clothing and learns how to fold and store his new clothing and other belongings. He also learns how to make his bed, known as a bunk. This will be followed by medical exams and complete dental check and a new haircut.

Through the first week, the recruit has to focus on initial conditioning that includes marching, swimming, drilling, and also attending Navy classes. There are three words that he learns in the first week: Honor, Courage and Commitment. These are not mere words but core values of the Navy that he must live with for the rest of his life.

Week 2
The second week focuses on confidence-building and is very important because it will help him to overcome his fears and failings. As part of the confidence-building course, he faces simulated shipboard situations where he learns to handle emergency situations and make decisions in those situations. While making any decision, he has to keep in mind the lives of his fellow shipmates are at stake.

Week 3
The third week is about real life experience – hands on the deck please! The recruit boards a training ship that is land-bound. The ship becomes his performance platform where he learns and works on everything from understanding the nomenclature of the ship to application of first aid techniques and coding and decoding signaling with flags also known as semaphore. There are also classroom studies, which are designed to lay emphasis on laws of armed conflict, Customs and Courtesies, money management, Navy ship and aircraft identification, shipboard communication, and basic seamanship.

Archives

This web site and associated pages are not associated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by U.S. Navy SEALs or any other U.S. Armed Forces including, but not limited to, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard.